Organizing Your Requests

Status Views

Your RFQs are organized into status views in the left sidebar:

Click any status in the sidebar to switch views.

Completed vs. Archive

When a procurement wraps up, you have two ways to close the RFQ — and the difference matters:

Mark Complete — Use this when you've chosen your winners and the purchase is done. The RFQ moves to the Completed view and disappears from Active. But it isn't deaf: if a supplier you invited replies later — for example, a late quote from a supplier coming back to match the winner — the RFQ automatically reactivates and moves back to Active, and you're notified by email about who replied. Late quotes are often the most informative ones, so nothing gets silently lost.

Archive — Use this when you want the RFQ closed for good. Archived RFQs never reopen automatically, even if a supplier replies. It's the hard stop.

A few details worth knowing:

• Only replies from suppliers you invited to the RFQ reactivate a completed request. Unrelated emails don't.
• A reactivated RFQ behaves like any active RFQ — you decide what to do with the late reply, and you can mark it Complete again when you're done.
• You can also manually reopen a completed or archived RFQ at any time with the Reopen button.
• Completed and Archived RFQs carry distinct status badges so you can tell them apart at a glance.

Rule of thumb: Mark Complete when winners are chosen. Archive only when you truly want no further activity on the request.

What Happens When a Supplier Replies to a Non-Active RFQ

A common question: if you have RFQs in Draft, Completed, Archive, or Deleted, and a supplier sends a quote or a question to one of them — does it make the RFQ active again and reopen it?

The answer depends on which view the RFQ is in. Only Completed RFQs reopen automatically:

So the only automatic reopen is the Completed → Active path, and only for a reply from a supplier you actually invited to that RFQ. Archived and Deleted RFQs sit still no matter who emails — that's exactly what those views are for.

If you want to bring back an Archived or Deleted RFQ, you do it yourself: use the Reopen button on a closed RFQ, or Restore a deleted one (see below). Buyer24 won't silently change a Deleted or Archived RFQ on you based on incoming mail.

In short: only a late reply from an invited supplier reopens an RFQ, and only when that RFQ is in Completed. Everything else stays put until you move it.

Moving Requests Between Statuses

Draft → Active: Open the draft and click Activate when you're ready to contact suppliers.

Active → Completed: When you've chosen your winners, click Complete. The RFQ moves to the Completed view.

Active → Archive: Open the RFQ and click Archive in the action menu. It disappears from your active list but is fully searchable in Archive.

Archiving in bulk: On the Requests page, tick the checkboxes on multiple RFQs, then click Bulk Actions → Archive. Good for end-of-month cleanup.

Deleting: Move to Deleted if you no longer need a request. Deleted RFQs are recoverable — open the Deleted view and choose Restore to bring one back (it returns as a Draft, so you can review it before activating again). To permanently remove an RFQ instead, choose Permanently Delete in the Deleted view — this cannot be undone.

Archive or Complete instead of deleting when possible. Closed RFQs are searchable, can be referenced for future similar purchases, and can be saved as templates.

Gmail-Style Navigation

Working through a long list of RFQs feels like working through email:

• Your list stays put. Opening an RFQ doesn't throw away your place in the list. On large screens, the list and the RFQ open side by side — the list narrows to a compact column on the left while the RFQ fills the rest. On smaller screens, the RFQ takes the full view.
• Back returns you exactly where you were. Your scroll position is preserved and the RFQ you were just viewing stays highlighted in the list, so you always know where you left off.
• Move between RFQs with the keyboard. With an RFQ open, press ↑ / ↓ (or k / j) to jump to the previous or next RFQ in the list, and Esc to close the RFQ and return to the list.

Keyboard shortcuts are smart about context: they don't fire while you're typing in a message or form field, and at the first or last item in the list the keystroke simply does nothing. Navigation follows whatever view and filters you have applied — so you can filter to, say, Active + High priority, then arrow through just those requests one by one.

Starring RFQs

Click the star icon next to any RFQ (in the list or in the RFQ header) to pin it to your Starred view. Stars are personal — your colleagues won't see which requests you've starred. Click the star again to unstar.

Good reasons to star something:

• An urgent request you need to check multiple times a day
• Waiting on a critical supplier reply
• A high-value negotiation in progress

Search

The search bar at the top of the Requests page searches:

• Subject — RFQ titles
• Description — full RFQ content
• Supplier names — supplier companies involved
• Message content — text from the message threads

Type a keyword and results filter instantly. Global search (the search bar at the very top of the page) also searches across suppliers, contacts, and quotes simultaneously.

Filters

Use the filter bar to narrow the list by:

Combine filters to find what you need quickly — for example, High priority + Deadline this week gives you a tight list of requests that need attention right now. Filters apply within the current status view (Active, Draft, etc.).

Sorting

Sort the request list by:

• Date created — newest or oldest first
• Deadline — soonest first (recommended when triaging urgent work)
• Last activity — most recently updated first
• Priority — highest first

Tips for Keeping Your Workspace Clean

• Mark RFQs Complete the same day you finalize a supplier decision. A tidy Active list makes it easier to focus — and Completed still catches late replies for you.
• Use Draft for requests you're still preparing — don't activate until you're ready to send.
• Star no more than 5–7 requests at a time. If everything is starred, nothing is.
• Review and clean up weekly — spend 5 minutes on Fridays closing out anything that wrapped up during the week.